Diamonds in the Rough
by TbirdGT500
Summary: 14 year old Lucas sets off with his trusted and jolly partner Raydi to take on the Sinnoh League. Along the way he meets Maylene, the gym leader of Veilstone city. The two travel abit and get to know each other a little. However, with the Presence of Team Galactic about, they find themselves teaming together on multiple occasions. Lucas/Maylene, minor Gymleadershippings. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1: The Journey Begins

**OK this is what I got to start off with; this chapter is purely for introducing Lucas and giving him his character, along with his partner (first Pokémon). So you will see mostly Lucas and his partner (won't spoil what Pokémon it is) for this entire chapter. Note that I'm not having personality or natures affect stats exactly like they do in the game, In the case of Lucas's partner, I might go through with the setup of a jolly nature. I should also mention that I'm holding a little contest, whoever can guess what Pokémon is Lucas's partner is first in the reviews will receive many props, not much else I can give :p. I'm not going to refer to it by its species name but by its nickname I gave it, I also referred it to some things I found in its bulbapedia page.**

Lucas took in the tranquil air of his hometown, the grass and leaves blowing in the wind seemed to be the very picture of peace to him. He took in a deep breath and exhaled. Then, a little red creature popped out of the backpack of the fourteen year old boy. He had lumps on his head that resembled an afro; a single spike protruded out of his back and a tail; as for his front, a yellow mark covering his stomach that resembled a flame.

"Hard to believe this will be the last day we spend in this town huh buddy" said the boy still wrapped around the nostalgia.

The two foot little Pokémon smiled happily and put his arms up, signaling he wanted to get up on his shoulder. Lucas extended his arm and bent down, the little red creature jumped about half a foot off the ground, grabbing the arm, then using it as a gymnastics pole swung himself upwards, then by doing half a back flip in the air, landed on the boys shoulder, and pointed happily to the right, which was the direction of Professor Rowan's laboratory.

"Alright, alright. I'll get moving" Lucas said smiling at his little red hot bundle of joy, he always was the jolly type of character, it was in his nature. He had high spirits and always was there to cheer his trainer up, whether they were in hail or sunshine, his little radiant spirit always came through. It was because of this that he gave him the nickname Raydi; because the radiance of his little spirit shined through the worst of the darkness.

Lucas walked in with his best friend on his shoulder into the laboratory. Professor Rowan was checking over some work that his assistant was showing him. He greeted Lucas kindly, although his intimidating face could have said otherwise.

"Lucas, how was Route 206?" he asked politely

"Eventful to say the least" said Lucas as he put down his backpack and handed over a poké ball to one of the assistants, who happened to be his father. "The report by Officer Jenny was right, there were Gligar terrorizing the cyclists on the cycling road. We found their nest right under the road on a boulder just under the road. One of them latched on to my face and would have stung me if Raydi hadn't burned its tail." The little fire type did a tiny fist pump to show it was proud to have saved his trainer. Lucas's father bent down to be at eye level with Raydi, and smiled has he asked him a question.

"Raydi, how's that flame of yours doing?" The little live coal Pokémon tilted his head up a breath out a bright yellow flame, the hue was magnificent, and the assistant went back to his standard height and turned to his son.

"Raydi's flame is as bright as ever, you must be taking real good care of him Lucas for him to be this healthy." said the father.

His son smiled and replied "Thanks dad!"

The father watched as his boy (and Raydi) went through the automatic sliding front doors of the laboratory beaming with confidence.

Here he thought to himself, '_How he's grown up so fast with his Pokémon, I can remember when he was still a baby, I guess I'm just getting old'_

_~Flashback~_

_T__welve year old Lucas s__at__ out at a beach while the sun is __setting;__ he sat dragging his finger in the sand, dealing with his amenable amount of anxiety__.__H__e grabbed his hat and crumpled it in his grip, squinting as the anxiety inside him rose. He heard a voice from the distance behind him, calling to him._

"_H__ey! M__om said dinner__'__s ready! Come back to the house to eat" his little sister left saying nothing else. Gingerly he got up, and headed back to his house._

_Dinner was especially quiet that day, the only sounds to be heard were forks and knives colliding with plates. The mood in the room was __uncomfortable.__ Lucas's mother glanced at Lucas as he slowly __raised__ his food to his mouth, his hand trembling with every bite._

"_S__o how was work honey?" said the mother of the family, trying to break the silence. _

"_I__t was good" he said "We worked on the data received from Lucas when he went to Route 210" He said as he then returned to his meal. _

"_Well that's good" she then turned to Lucas__,__ "Lucas I'm proud that you've been helping with Professor Rowan__'__s research with your father"_

"_Thanks mom" his reply sent no joy, his tone seemed to quiver when he spoke. _

"_You're__ going to be a great trainer __someday.__ I know it!" she continued "__W__ith your help in the lab and trainers school diploma there is no way you can go wrong" _

_Hearing these words made Lucas cringe in fear, he dropped his fork and quickly got out of his chair. He ran for the stairs as his mother called out._

"_Lucas" she received no answer, and worries filled her mind as it had become obvious that something was wrong._

_As he reached the hallway he sped to his room, he slammed the doo__r and knelt before his bed, bury__ing his face in to his bed. _

"_What am I gonna do" he lifted his fa__ce to show the start of tears. "T__he final exam is in 3 days, and I'm not prepared at all, I can't understand half of the stuff they try to teach me. How can I go in completely blind, I'll never pass like that" his head sank back into the fabric, in his heart he remembered the promise that made with his parents, he couldn't go on an adventure until he passed trainers school. The problem was he now so far in it, that he couldn't understand half of the stuff. As the depression sank in deeper and deeper, Lucas __could do nothing but fall asleep._

_The next day__,__ he walked the streets of Jubilife City tired, aching from falling asleep on the hardwood floor, with his textbook completely covering his face. His eyes were bloodshot, ready to close at notice, and all it served was to fuel the fire raging in his mind._

"_Nothing...4 hours of cramming stuff into my brain and I can't remember anything the next morning. I guess I just not cut out to be a trainer." _

_T__hen he felt something tug on his pant leg, he saw behind him a small red fire type with a yellow __f__lame decal on his chest. He bent down to be eye level with this creature, with an expression of wonder on his face, try to figure out the intentions of the creature, his eyes not wide open, and his mouth half closed. This ma__de Lucas vulnerable to the fire-__types playful attack. The little creature took his finger and moved it up and down in the vicinity of the __boy's__ lips, creating sort of a flapping effect. Lucas then retreated to his upright position covering his mouth in __surprise;__ he did not know what just happened. The little creature with a strange __a__fro then jumped on him and started tickling him. __The__ boy was helpless to the __f__ire__-__types playful tricks, as he couldn't stop turning and laughing._

"_Ha__ hah __h-hey__, __s__top that! Come on ahahaha" the assault continued in the middle of the street as spectators giggled from afar, until a bell from a nearby building, it sounded the start of the school day. Immediately after the sound had passed, the laughing ceased and playtime was over. Lucas had remembered what his schedule demanded. _

"_Crap! I gotta go" he got up started rushing __for__ the trainers school, but turned back to face the fire type again. "Hey, thanks for cheering me up little guy, I really needed that." With his sincerest gratitude given, he then went back to running to school. Back to the street, the little fire type watched as the boy went off to the building. Suddenly, the happiness he had disappeared, he cheered up the human like he wanted to, his mission was complete. However, he was now left alone. With no__body to play with, and the city__ returning back to __their__ business. With nobody to call a friend in his life, he went into his alleyway, and kicked a can to keep him occupied. _

_At the sou__nd of a bell, children came out of the schoo__l__ like__ water gushing out hole of a once pressured tank. Amongst the crowd was Lucas, who came out ready to walk home. He started his trip to his town until he passed a small alley. He then backtracked until he had a full view of the __dark crevice that was the alleyway. Inside he saw the small red creature from before, throwing a can at the wall out of boredom and solitude. He sat __there__, sulking, feeling lonely and depressed. It was obvious to Lucas this little guy could use a friend. He then came up to the alley, which grabbed the __fire-__types attention. The two foot, red creature turned __its__ head to see a hand reaching out to him. He looked__ up __to see w__ho__ the owner of the hand__ was__, and gazed into the brown eyes of the boy from before. _

"_W__ould you like to come with me?" he asked, to anybody else this was a simple question but to the live coal __Pokémon__, this was a dream come true. He happily accepted the offer and leaped onto his shoulder. The__ two walked to Lucas'__ house, avoiding the tall grass and jumping off ledges to avoid wild __Pokémon__. When the duo reached the house, they quietly let themselves in. Our little __f__ire__-__type friend was amazed with the house. With cushions, shiny appliances, and bright lights creating an excellent ambiance that sure beat living in a trash can. Everything seemed perfect here to him, he couldn't see what could pull him away. After Lucas was done taking off his coat, his mother came down along to greet him, his sister followed. _

"_Lucas your home, but what__'__s that __Pokémon__ doing here" she asked curiously, _

"_I met him while I was on my way to school today. I thought it would be fun to bring him here" Lucas answered._

_His mom began to worry "Lucas, you can't just bring random __Pokémon__ into the house, they could wreck something." _

"_I know" he said conceding to her point, A fir__e-__type could do a lot of damage if provoked. "__But__ he was so lonely when I left him, he had to stop me and tickle me to submission to get any fun."_

_Then his sister Hannah poked out of the background "__D__id somebody say a __Pokémon__?" she said, excited by the thought. When she laid eyes on the live coal __Pokémon__, she ran down giggled with glee._

"_It's s__o__ cute!" she said after getting out her fit. She went up to the fire type and started hugging it. The __Pokémon__, not used to the attention, felt strange and started blushing. He knew he wanted this attention, but now it felt weird. The __Pokémon__ then was released from the girls grass, and they spent the next few hours playing together... __**(author whispers in the narrators ear)**__ wha? __**(continues to explain mistake)**__ oh, okay! They actually played for one hour._

_Then Lucas's dad comes home, and the inevitable begging started. Lucas and Hannah were on their knees with their palms together in praying fashion, pleading away at their parents. _

"_Please can we keep him, please?" Lucas begged with everything he had, their mother was unconvinced, not even the puppy eyes and the cute frowning face of Hannah could change her mind._

"_No, it would just make a mess, and it could burn the house down." she said firmly, but as a researcher of Pokémon, Lucas's father had other ideas. _

"_Honey, please reconsider. Lucas is halfway through trainer's school already; once he gets out he will go out on a journey. Besides, he would finally be able to get to Jubilife City on his own." he had a good point. They always had arranged a chaperone for Lucas to get to trainer's school, but if they kept this little fire type, he could get there without having to be watched like a toddler._

"_Oh all right" she said giving in to the wise husband. They children cheered, as they celebrated with the little red and yellow Pokémon. For the parents this meant another mouth to feed. For Hannah this meant she had somebody to play with. However for Lucas and Raydi, this meant the beginning of a beautiful friendship._

_~End Flashback~_

Dawn had set on the quiet town of Sandgem. Here, the final farewell would be given to the fourteen year old Lucas. He stood with his partner Raydi, with his backpack on his shoulders and his dreams towards the sky. His family and the professor were behind them to give him a proper send-off. He turned around to face them and their warm faces, Hannah ran to Raydi in tears.

"Waaahhhh! I don't want Raydi to go, who is going to play with him?" she looked up to her big brother with teary eyes. He knelt down to eye level smiling.

"Hannah, I know you're gonna miss him but we've wanted to go on this adventure for so long, you got to let us do it." she turned her head away and her upper lip started to quiver, Lucas patted her on the head. Her attention was not back on him. "Tell you what, when we're out there, I'll catch you a Pokémon you'll always get to call your own okay?"

Hannah looked into her brothers eyes; the deal struck the perfect chord for her. "Okay!"

Lucas bent back up to face the rest of his family and peers. His mother stepped forward, holding something in her hand. "Son, we want you to have this" it was revealed to be a cross-transceiver. Ordered all the way from the Unova region, it was now being offered to Lucas in the palm of his mother's hand. "We want to be able to keep in touch with you no matter where you go, I hope that by making you stay here till now to go to trainer's school has given everything you need to complete your journey. You meet many people and cross many obstacles, but I hope through it all you'll remember us when you take them on." She then cried as well, Lucas could see how much this really meant to them all. He hugged his mother, closed his eyes and took her words to heart.

"Thank you mom" He said to her gentle as they released the embrace. Then it was time for Professor Rowan to say his part.

"Young man, I've seen many young kids like you go" a certain girl in a toque came to his mind "I've known you as an assistant of mine for a long time now, and I believe you have all the knowledge you need to make it to the Sinnoh league. He put out his hand to shake, Lucas with all of his heart accepted.

Now it was time, time to set off on that dirt road that would start off his journey. His long adventure would begin (after Jubilife city), and his dream would be in reach. He took one last look at the people behind him and with tears in his eyes, said one final goodbye.

"Thank you, Thank you all for what you've done!" his tears flowed as he turned around and headed for the route 202. The start of his legacy, and the world just beyond him.

**Well, how did you like this chapter? I'm gonna be taking a lot of time to develop Lucas as a character. I tried to go over it (Blazikenrocks: And failed. -.-) and edit it myself so I hope I did a good job. I realize that I probably wrote the longest flashback in shipping his tor so I apologize for the abuse of italics if anybody found it annoying. Furthermore, this is my first story that has been planned out with a plot chart and a list of content for each chapter (that's still in progress). Some of you may have noticed the bold words in between the paragraph. I thought I should try to add my own kind of style to this fic, so I'll be putting that on whenever I either break the 4th wall or just try to get a giggle out of you guys. I should say this straight out, although I planned out my plot for the story and some important scenes. I've decided I'd let you, the readers decide that. Since it doesn't conflict with my plot in any shape I can see. So please leave a review telling me how the chapter was, and what your guess for what Pokémon Raydi is, I know I'm asking a lot, but I hope that I can make it worth your while. **

**Blazikenrocks: I guess it's time for me to add my own notes. HEY GUYS! Blazikenrocks here. I am Tbird's beta, and I was trying to contact him. His grammar is off… and that's why I read it over for him! Seeing like… 10 mistakes in the first couple paragraphs, I know when he told me he had to read it himself, he failed at it. He didn't fix anything I saw. ANYWAY, here's my little sales thing, if you want to call it that. Do you think your grammar/spelling is off? Do you want to fix it but can't? Then you need a beta! I am amazingly good at fixing grammatical and spelling errors! Contact me if you want something done! I'm always available! (I have too much free time c'mon guys)**


	2. Chapter 2: Fear through Psyduck

**Congrats to the anon who guessed first and that Raydi was a Magby, because you were right. I say Lucas's cameo and thought that I would use that to start off his adventure. I'm sorry if I took too long, I just have been busy with school returning. I want avoid rushing to meet a deadline because that interferes with your work quality. **

**...6 months later I find myself looking at this and wanting to kneel at your feet for being so late. My Beta Reader has been putting this chapter off and I ended up doing that too. So I deciedded to Beta read it myself, Hope u all can forgive me. Enjoy :)**

3rd person POV

Lucas was sitting outside looking into his lap, his partner Raydi the cheerful Magby beside him as eating his lunch. Lucas was bummed because he lost his first gym battle to Roark, his Cranidos was a complete monster to beat. One hit was all it took, they had been able to take out his Geodude and Onix with their superior agility, but that tired poor Raydi out and then that headbutt hit him straight in the gut. Then that was game, set, and match. As it tunneled through his mind more, Lucas kept falling deep into his sadness, Raydi decided to take action; He gave him a pat on the back, then put on his cheeriest smile. This cheered Lucas up a bit, but he still wondered how he could beat Roark, it was obvious that Raydi was not enough to beat him, not unless they did a lot of training. Then Nurse Joy came along to collect Raydi's food dish.

"I see your pokemon is doing well, but your looking a bit down". she said in the typical soothing voice that Nurse Joy had.

"yea, we came back from getting our rears kicked in by Roark and his Cranidos. I think I need another pokemon in my team, but I don't know what I'm gonna do".

Nurse Joy just closed her eyes and smiled. "you can go to Oreburgh gate and catch Psyduck there, they usually appear in the bottom floor, but you need rock smash to get there".

That 'but' never went through his skull; Lucas now had a spark of confidence to light the fire of his spirit. "Thats It!" He had his answer, and he knew what he had to do. He got Raydi on his shoulder and they headed off, but when they reached the door they stopped. He turned to face Nurse Joy.

"Thank you for everything you did Nurse Joy, I hope to be back with a new friend in my team".

He bowed politely as he spoke, then ran off. Nurse Joy wanted to tell him that he needed rock smash, but he was already out the door by that time. Lucas ran through the mining town of Oreburgh City, through all the old factory districts and the houses. He then made it to the front of Oreburgh Gate. The place where he had hopes and redemption and victory. The place that held to last piece of the puzzle to solve his dilemma. He continued through the entrance and stopped at the cracked rocks blocking his way to his saving grace.

"_Pfft, Rock Smash, I don't need Rock Smash"._

Using his agility gained from training with Raydi and going on those errands for professor Rowan, he climbed over the tower cracked rocks and went on to the bottom floor. When it came to parkour, nobody in Sandgem town had ever come close to beating Lucas. If their was an obstacle in his way, he would simply vault over it. He continued further down the Oreburgh Gate to the second floor, where awaited his chance at victory. He reached the end of the stairs that lead to the second floor. Down was a giant cave with an underground lake. The place was full rocky ledges and smooth rocks that worked as bicycle ramps. The geology behind that was a complete mystery but it was not his focus. He jumped down the ledges to get closer at the sparkling body of water. A family of Zubats swarmed straight in front of his face. He flinched, as anybody else would. After they flew away, he continued on his quest for Psyduck. Raydi was sitting on top of his shoulder, looking out for any signs of the waddling yellow duck. At last they caught sight of one, Raydi was looking to his trainers right when he had spotted the chronic headache pokemon. He got his trainers attention as he slowly realized what the commotion was, as he looked in the direction that his partner was pointing he saw it. The big yellow duck holding his head in agony. Lucas felt a burst of confidence in him.

"Lets go Raydi! Time to catch a Psyduck" Raydi jumped from his partner's shoulders and then rolled as he landed so the impact and pain would be minimized. He then got in his battle stance, and awaited his trainers commands.

"Raydi! Use Fire Spin!" Raydi responded, he let out a huge spiral of fire. Hit it it's mark on the Psyduck, who became startled by the sudden attack. It tried to run, but he was trapped by the circle of fire surrounding him. Psyduck panicked, he ran as fast as he could away from the his pursuer. Lucas and Raydi tailed him with out end, the Psyduck tried to use every boulder, every ledge, every crack he could to slow them down. However, Lucas's parkour proved to be more than a match for a few big boulders and some small holes. He would either vault over or slide through.

Psyduck's POV

Hi, I'd talk right now now but I'm currently busy running for my life. My anxiety was now at peak levels. The cause of this is the fact that I risk losing normal cave life. If I don't get this stupid brat off my tail, I'll would have to train under this kid. Which would include a cruel 24 hour regime, and a whiplash's on my soft back every time I fail to do something. i started crying as i kept running for my life. Picking up speed as i got closer and closer to the underground lake screaming.

"PSY YI YI YI!" (which in English was SOMEBODY HELP ME!)

3rd person POV

Psyduck dived into the water as Lucas and Raydi had reached the edge, then a dark shadow appeared in the water. It belonged to a massive pokemon, who came out of the water and roared ferociously as it surfaced. Suddenly fear was upon Lucas and his live coal pokemon, they stared at the ferocious sea serpent. It looked at them with menacingly cold eyes. It's gaping mouth and fangs along with it's sheer size intimidated the young ones on shore. Lucas's hopes for victory at the Oreburgh gym were drowned out by the monstrous force staring him down straight into his soul. He felt as if the end was near, for the Psyduck's savior had come, in the form of a over 22 foot long, blue Gyarados.

Meanwhile in the top of Oreburgh cave, a girl in sweat pants and a blue wrestling singlet came into the Oreburgh Gate. She was barefoot and had a serious looking Lucario at her side with her. Most people knew her as the gym leader to Veilstone City; her name was Maylene. She had come here under the request of Roark to train against him as rock types have a weakness to fighting. She had heard that one guy came along with a Monferno and destroyed him recently, so fighting types were looking like a huge problem these days. A hiker who was hanging out at the front entrance notice Maylene earlier, and decided to give her a warm welcome.

"Top of the morning Maylene, come to see Roark?"

Maylene replied "Yea, I thought it would be a good idea to practice against him. Have you seen him?"

the hiker shook his head. "nope, he had a challenge recently, some kid came with a Magby and gave him a rough time. The little guy packed some punch, but Roark won and the trainer went down to the gate to get a Psyduck"

then they heard a deafening roar from the bottom floor, Maylene and her Lucario got into their battle stance almost instinctively. It sounded like a Gyarados had been majorly ticked off, and it seemed plausible that the trainer with the Magby was responsible for angering it. She turned to her partner.

"Lets go Lucario!" Lucario acknowledged and followed Maylene into the bottom floor.

Down at the edge of the underground lake, Lucas had frozen up in fear. He kept staring at the Gyarados who was glaring him down to size. Lucas desperately tried to get his legs in gear.

"_Come on, Move! MOVE!" _he successfully stepped back a few steps until he tripped and fell over. Raydi came over and stood on his lap, trying to protect his trainer from further harm. Even though he was brave, he wasn't fearless. Lucas could see even through his heartless act, that he was scared. For a fire type about to go up against one of the most dominant species of water types was more than enough to be scared. As the Gyarados inched closer, Lucas closed his eyes. Hoping the worst would overcome him. The he heard a voice from afar.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" a blue blast of energy was shot right at the sea serpent. It reeled as it tried to quickly regain it's composure. Lucas opened his eyes, Raydi was still there, but he was being guarded by this newcomer, the Lucario that had shot the aura sphere was standing in front of them. He stood fierce, not flinching in fear but standing his ground. The Gyarados then roared in anger, it launched it's self at Lucario; Maylene had to act quickly

"Force Palm! At it's cheek"

Lucario jumped, and attempted to intercept the raging serpent. The safety of Lucas and Raydi depended on it; he waited till he was at the side of the Gyarados's face. Concentrating all his energy into his palm. Then let loose with the force palm; the serpents attack was knocked off course. It crashed into a nearby boulder and shatterred it to pieces. Lucas watched in awe, until he felt somebody give him a hard slap; the slap had come from Maylene.

"Snap out of it; you need to get out of the way. It's only gonna get worse here".

After hearing this, Lucas took half a second to snap back into the situation. By that time, Maylene had already pulled him up to his feat. He followed her into the area she had deemed safe for him. Raydi followed, they watched as the Aura pokemon battled with the fearsome Gyarados. Even though very move it had was resisted by it's excellent offensive typing, and it's scales seemed only to get scratched when hit by this pokemon referred as legendary.

"Lucario, finish this up with Thunderpunch" Maylene directed

Well, almost every move of Lucario was resisted. Because as soon as that thunderpunch hit, it was over. The Gyarados could not possibly handle the electricity; it engulfed the serpents body, And caused it to reel back in pain. It fell as to the ground, out of energy and defeated. It slowly slithered away, checking that nobody followed. It disappeared back in the lake. It's shadow in the water was the last thing anybody had seen.

It was 4 pm at the pokemon center; Maylene was giving a full report of what happened to Roark and officer Jenny outside the pokemon center. Lucas was sitting on the bench just beside the front door. He couldn't hear a thing they were saying, which didn't concern him. If he wee do be asked questions about the event However, he couldn't get over the fact that he had frozen in fear at such a critical moment; he thought about how scared Raydi was and yet how willing he was to protect him, and all he could do is just close his eyes. He cried, Raydi jumped on him and tried to get him to stop; it was no use, for he couldn't even hear him. He just said the same five words.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry".

It was useless to try, Nurse Joy came along to stop the persistent little Magby.

"i think he needs some time alone right now. Why don't we get you something to eat."

Raydi reluctantly agreed to follow, as his stomach was growling loudly.

Lucas just continued to sit there and weep at his mistake. You could say he was being a bit of a cry baby, but quite frankly if I had just left my hometown and just had a fight with a giant dragon of the sea, I would be upset too. Anyways, he just sat there and continued beating himself up for what happened. He kept saying how useless he was back there, he was starting to think that maybe he wasn't a good enough trainer for Raydi; that he deserved better than what he has for a trainer these days. This went on for quite a while, he stopped crying after 20 minutes or so had past but he still was very upset with himself. Maylene came in through the automatic doors of the pokemon center and turned to her left to see the sad trainer. After looking at him and feeling a bit of sympathy for him. She put those feelings away and got back to her original business.

"um, excuse me; Officer Jenny wants a report from you".

Lucas looked at her, and got up to face her. With his depressing vibes at full swing, he responded to her statement.

"Oh, Okay"

and that was it; that was all Lucas could say at the time. If you ask me, he was being way to hard on himself. Maylene wasn't sure exactly was going on in his mind, but she could tell it wasn't sunshine and lollipops. She had this voice in her head telling her to help him, but he was already talking to Officer Jenny.

"So you went there to catch a Psyduck to beat Roark with but instead you ended up disturbing a Gyarados when it went running for help"?

"Yes Officer Jenny" replied Lucas.

Officer Jenny sighed, this meant she might have to either have to Gyarados subdued or close off the lower floors of the Oreburgh Gate. Either one meant doing a truck load of paperwork.

"Well, I advise you don't go down there again until I get this sorted out. It'll take awhile for us to figure out what to do with the Gyarados down there. That means you'll either have to go find another pokemon to use against Roark, or go and try for another badge".

This was not the greatest thing for Lucas to hear. He already was losing confidence in himself, now he was being told that he wouldn't be able to get the one pokemon that could win his gym battle gym battle here anymore. His journey that he had dreamed about going on was turning into a road of disappointment. Officer Jenny left on her bike and went long to take care of what she was sure was a nightmare of papers. All who was left was Lucas and Maylene, and Maylene felt that she should do something to cheer him up. He looked like a kicked puppy that needed some attention.

"Hey, are you OK"? Obviously not, "um, I know it might seem like it, but it's not the end of the world. There are lots of gyms you could challenge. I'm sure some gym leaders are staying put".

Lucas looked up at her and with his curious yet-depressed-tone asked the question that had been raised from that sentence.

"Staying Put"?

Now it was unavoidable; now she had to tell him the news that she was sure would depress him even more.

"well... the thing is... a lot of the gym leaders are traveling around training with each other preparing for the pokemon world tournament being held in Lake Valor. That's why I'm here, Roark asked me to come so he could prepare his team for fighting types".

Lucas, as expected, was now even more bummed at hearing this; however Maylene had hope for him to follow.

"but its alright, the Pokemon Association said that any traveling gym leaders are required to battle challengers while mobile and have a temporary replacement in their place at their gym. You could actually battle me if you wanted too".

"Thanks, but after seeing you with you Lucario I'd rather not. I just started my journey and I wouldn't stand a chance against you and that partner of yours".

Maylene was surprised to get some recognition from him. He was looking a lot better now, but she felt she had to set the record straight.

"I'm not that strong! I really don't know how I came to be a gym leader, these four years have past by so quickly now I still wonder how I got this job".

Lucas could not believe what he just heard, this awesome girl who didn't look to be much older than him had just said that she wasn't as strong as he claimed she was.

"Are you kidding me? Didn't you just save me from that Gyarados back there. Your the strongest person I've seen on my journey so far. I know I just started, but I got a front row seat at seeing you take down that giant blue destroyer. Lets face it, your strong; really really strong"!

Maylene couldn't help but giggle at Lucas's enthusiasm when he was making his point. "Thanks for the praise, but I really think your exaggerating, but it's good to see your feeling better".

All of a sudden we had our little red bundle of joy come and jump onto Lucas. He tickled him and made him lay on the ground squirming and laughing. Maylene looked on smiling at the cute little interaction going on with this boy and the new character in this. Once they were done, Lucas got up and spoke.

"Well if you hadn't cheered me up then this little guy would've. He's my partner and has always been there to cheer me up when I was down. Ever since I found him in that alleyway in Jubilife City he's been like this. A big bundle of radiant spirit, that's why I call 'em Raydi".

Maylene just chuckled as she looked on to the cute little pairing of trainer and pokemon.

"That's so cute, your lucky to have a guy like him".Then Maylene got an idea "hey, I know theirs a route just north of Oreburgh City where you can get a Machop. Lets head there, i'm sure that could help you with your travels".

So away the two went to Route 207, it took the two awhile but they managed to find a Machop in the tall grass. Lucas proceeded to battle it with Raydi, Lucas had some doubts about himself still, but with some encouragement from Maylene. He got his mind back in the game and gave the first attack.

"Alright Raydi Fire Spin!"

Without missing a beat, Raydi spat that ring of fire straight at the Machop. Trapped, it went straight for the antagonist. It's hand started to glow pure white, and it hit the side of it's shining hand straight into Raydi's chest. Raydi was flung back, but through a creative roll, he minimized the damage and got up. Lucas smiled at his little parkour roll that he taught Raydi to use. Maylene couldn't help but notice either.

"did you teach him that"? she asked him, with great pride he answered her. "sure did, that's something I taught him in case we got overpowered".

The battle went on, countless times Raydi was flown back by this dominant opponent who clearly had more physical strength; every time Raydi would get back up and give it his all. Maylene was impressed, Lucas and his little Magby packed quite a punch. They would get up no matter what that Machop dealt out. It even scored a few critical hits and they still got back up.

"Okay Raydi use Smokescreen"! Raydi let out shroud of black smoke that covered the battlefield. Machop couldn't see where his opponent was, and unfortunatly deemed it unfair. He mad a whistling sound with his fingers, soon an entire line of Machops were getting ready to attack the trainers in order to stop the battle. Unfortunately one of those trainers, was the fighting type gym leader, who didn't take kindly to interruptions.

"Go Meditite"! Out came the little psychic/fighting type who then proceeded to take care of all the invading Machops on its own. The leader who had escaped the smoke screen after taking a few fiery hits watched in awe as this human mimicked the moves of her pokemon and was kicking the rears of any intruders.

"I'll take care of these guys, you just finish taking out the leader". Lucas nodded, he then gave out the orders.

Suddenly the Machop who was spectating felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see the fire type deliver a Faint Attack. He felt another tap on his shoulder, angry and annoyed. He used Karate chop to try and take out the opponent behind him.

"Now lets finish this with Ember!"

Raydi jumped to avoid the pure white hand, but failed as it hit his leg. He flinched in pain, but persevered and delivered his daily dose of fire to his opponent. The Machop could no longer stand; he fell to his knees, and Lucas threw a well aimed poke-ball at it's head. It took the fighting type in and bobbed for a bit, then finally it sat still. Lucas had successfully caught a Machop, and celebrated with a jump into the air.

Later that evening Lucas let the now rested Machop out of it's poke-ball. It gave out it's cry and then stood ready for action. Lucas knelt down to it's height, and spoke to the superpower pokemon.

"So Machop, do you want to come with me and face the Sinnoh league together?"

Machop's POV

I had only one answer to this punk and his question, and that was a Karate Chop to his face. He fell down and was stunned with the side of my hand leaving a nice red mark on his face. I walked over to the only one here who I would ever call my master. I knelt down before the girl and her Meditite; through this body language I established that did not under any circumstances want to be with that kid and his cheating little brat, but with the trainer who left me in awe of her skill. If I was to become a humans pokemon, I wanted nothing less than to train under her, and become as strong as her partner. I even took my poke-ball and from the unconscious meat sack and offered it to her. She went over to the knocked out punk and woke him up. Was a shame 'cuz unconscious and knocked out was how I liked him best.

3rd person POV

When Lucas fully came to and understood the situation, he was depressed by this news. However, he felt it was understandable and justified (save for the massive bruise on his face); he said his piece said his piece.

"I see, well it seems pretty clear to me that he wants to go with you Maylene".

Maylene was a little shocked at this, usually a pokemon who is caught by a trainer gains a certain level of respect for his trainer. This Machop seemed to have none at all for Lucas, as he had displayed with the bruised cheek belonging to Lucas.

"Are you OK with this? I mean, this guy is your ticket to beating Roark. Are you sure you want to give him up"?

Lucas looked at Maylene, his face told her he was serious.

"Maylene if there is one thing I have learned from that incident in Oreburgh Gate, it's that I can't force pokemon to be my partners. If they want to make their own decisions, then I won't stop them. He wants to train with you, so I say let 'em".

Looking back at the Machop she could tell that they were both on the same page.

"Alright, I'll take him under my wing". Maylene never thought she would be using a reference to flying type pokemon, but you never know. She took the poke ball and had Machop return inside it. She held it and looked once again at Lucas, he was smiling at her approval of a new partner.

Later that evening the two were outside the entrance of Orebugh Gate from Route 203. The two were about to see each other off. Maylene asked the question first.

"so where will you go now?"

"I plan to head to Eterna City" Lucas replied "a grass type gym like that shouldn't be too hard for me and Raydi to deal with. What about you"?

"i'm going to stay to help Raork with his training, it will be good practice for our little friend here".

She held the poke ball containing the Machop Lucas caught, after gazing at it for awhile, she remembered something she hadn't had the chance to ask yet.

"by the way, what is your name? I never got it all this time".

With nice shining grin he adjusted his hat. "It's Lucas, and I hope to see you again" and with that, he set off. As Maylene watched the newbie trainer continue his journey with his jolly little Magby on his shoulder.

Returning back to Oreburgh City she was surprised to find Roark at the gate making out with a random guy... yea I'll just let that sink in.

**holy crap that was by far the longest chapter I have ever typed up. Hope you all enjoyed that, the last part with Roark was just something I thought would be cool and funny to put in. Besides, yaoi isn't some dark arts to me like it is for most guys... Yes people, I am a guy... who supports yoai... and is straight... anyways I hoped you enjoyed this chapter.**

… **6 months later I still chuckle at that little comment. I Promise you I will completel this story. At the least, I will have a chapter up by spring break.**


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